Israeli Filmmakers Visit Gordon for Cultural Exchange

WENHAM, MA - Three up-and-coming Israeli filmmakers will screen their films and meet with students at Gordon College, a leading Christian college on Boston’s North Shore, on Thursday, Nov. 7.

Co-sponsored by the Boston Jewish Film Festival (BJFF), the Consulate General of Israel to New England and the Gordon College Film Society, the college event is meant to foster intercultural and interreligious dialogue between young American Christians and Israeli Jews through the medium of film. The filmmakers will screen their films for the student body and general public on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 2 p.m. in Gordon’s Barrington Center for the Arts. The event is free and open to the public. Later, the filmmakers will visit a screenwriting class taught by Toddy Burton, assistant professor of communication arts.

“These filmmakers are from a completely different cultural background, from a different part of the world with so much to offer in terms of perspective and filmmaking,” Burton said. “This is a great opportunity for my students to learn from them.”

The young filmmakers—Liran Kapel, Anna Gurevich, and Assaf Machnes—are recent graduates of film schools in Israel and London and are in Boston to compete in BJFF’s 3rd Annual Short Film Competition, Nov. 7, 7 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre.

The films are:

“Nyosha,” directed by Kapel, is an animated film based on the true story of Holocaust survivor Nomi Kapel, the filmmaker's grandmother;

“Sashenka” directed by Gurevich, looks at the issue of Russian immigration to Israel through the eyes of a young and mischievous boy;

“Auschwitz on My Mind,” directed by Machnes, explores how a group of Israeli high school students, distracted by their hormones, deal with the ?Holocaust.

BJFF Artistic Director Amy Geller sees the event as part of “our mission to reach out to new and diverse audiences who may never have had the chance to watch an Israeli film, let alone meet an Israeli filmmaker.”

For more information about the 25th Annual BJFF, Nov. 6-18 at 12 locations in the Greater Boston area, please visit the Boston Jewish Film Festival or contact Jeff Remz, Communications and Marketing Manager at 617-244-9899 x 210 or jremzbjff.org.

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Gordon College is one of the nation's premier Christian colleges and located just north of Boston. We offer students extraordinary access to leading-edge opportunities for intellectual, professional, and leadership development to address the increasingly complex challenges of a global society. Gordon stands apart from other outstanding institutions in New England by combining an exceptional education with an informed Christian faith.

Gordon College is one of the nation's premier Christian colleges and located just north of Boston. We offer students extraordinary access to leading-edge opportunities for intellectual, professional, and leadership development to address the increasingly complex challenges of a global society. Gordon stands apart from other outstanding institutions in New England by combining an exceptional education with an informed Christian faith.